Are there any major engine, transmission, suspension.... any performance differences between model years.. 2001, 02, 03, 04 ?

What's the general consensus on the weak points that should be looked at when buying a 996TT?

looking at the market,
thanks,
Steve

 

Early 2001s had front bumper guards, solid spoke wheels (heavier) and no glovebox. Some say the car became heavier after 2001. Some have said the 2002+ have more structural rigidity but I believe that this has been disproven. Same engine, same tranny, same performance, same suspension. A few cars have a 2nd gear pop-out issue, but most if not all have been fixed by now. These are robust cars with no siginificant weaknesses.

BTW, the search engine is your friend. This question has been covered a bizillion or maybe a kagillion times.

 

A number of things (such as Navigation and Bose) became standard equipment in 2004.

 

No major changes, that's good to know.
Generally, the rule of thumb was buy the most current version you could affort b/c Porsche made performance changes/fixes in successive years... especially in the 80's and early 90's.

Thanks for the info.

 

You are right, they really did get it right the first time. There is no good reason to steer clear of an early MY 996TT.

 

02+ has different cupholders and center a/c vent. I also hear rumors on this site that 03+ has a little more power due to computer programing? Can someone confirm this?

 

03+ has a 16 bit data bus upgrade but I have not read anywhere that it resulted in performance gains.

 

Do you have any idea if my 02 x50 has this bus upgrade? I beleve all 2002 X50 began production during mid to end of the year.

 

All X50's did have ECU software differences for the K24 turbos, ICs, and exhaust versus the std model but that was different from the data bus upgrade. I think a visible difference was the CD nav. In 03 they went to CD above the Nav screen and MOST fiber optic bus. This also allows the Dennsion iPod unit to connect through the MOST bus. Does your car have the CD nav or MOST to the CD changer? Other than that I would have no idea how to tell.